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For a young scientist the possibilities are endless, but a good mentor can make all of the difference in helping their career off to the right start.<\/p>\n
Those who choose to become scientists can often point out one or several people who influenced them and started them on the journey that is their career. Already at an early stage in one\u2019s education, there can be that one professor who made a longstanding impact. Even seemingly small actions make a big difference. This was the case for 2008 Nobel laureate in chemistry, Martin Chalfie. He fondly remembers a special teacher while he was an undergraduate student at Harvard, who personally ensured that Chalfie had a key to the library and could read the papers needed for a course. \u201cHe went out of his way \u2014 that was a wonderful thing,\u201d Chalfie says.<\/p>\n
The first experience that many people have of actually practicing science is during graduate school. The advisors naturally take on the role as mentors and create an environment where they can grow. This can be manifested in many different ways. For Brian Schmidt, winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in physics, having frequent meetings with his PhD supervisor at Harvard were important. \u201cEvery morning I would bring in a plot of what I did the day before and we would talk it over,\u201d he says. \u201cHe really imprinted lots of how to do science to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Do not think that a good advisor is someone who speaks to you on a daily basis. Depending on the individual, even infrequent interactions with advisors can help a person grow. Chalfie\u2019s postdoc advisor only spoke to him once per year about his work. \u00a0\u201cThat freedom to go off and do whatever I wanted was wonderful \u2014 I chose the experiments, what avenues to go down, whether they failed or succeeded.\u201d Chalfie found this type of mentorship helpful, making sure he took responsibility for his work.<\/p>\n
Sometimes, the actions of one\u2019s advisor can even define an entire scientific career. This is particularly true for Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, 2009 Nobel laureate in chemistry, whose postdoc advisor at Yale introduced him to a new field. \u201cHe introduced me to the work on the ribosome,\u201d says Ramakrishnan. \u201cThe ribosome turned out to be this long-term interesting problem \u2014 he essentially gave me a lifetime of work.\u201d<\/p>\n
While advisors might be the obvious source of mentorship in the life of a young scientist, they are definitely not the only one. For someone just joining a lab or research group, the experience of someone else just a few years ahead of you can be invaluable. As someone who recently was in the same situation as you find yourself in, they can often teach you how to actually do good work on a day-to-day basis. Richard J. Roberts, 1993 Nobel Prize winner in physiology or medicine, had such an experience as a PhD student. Roberts worked with a postdoc who he thought was one of the best teachers that he has ever encountered. \u201cHe was one of these people who could tell you what to do, but also at the end of it he would tell you why you were doing it,\u201d he says. \u201cYou would understand very thoroughly the whole scientific process that was involved in any experiment you did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mentors can take on many forms and have played important roles for all of the Nobel laureates, especially in their early careers. This need for advice does not end with a tenure position or even a Nobel Prize, but can take on new forms. In the next post I will show how the relationships with one\u2019s mentors can evolve.<\/p>\n
Further reading<\/em><\/p>\n Mentoring: The perspective of Nobel laureates<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n How important is it to have a mentor in your career?<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Contributor Michael Gatchell … Read more<\/a> Continue reading